Ball marker holder for golf

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a means for holding a ball marker for use in golf which is used temporarily to indicate the position of a golf ball on the green and, more particularly, to a ball marker holder having a means for fastening the holder to shoes or belts worn by golf players and an insertion hole into which a rodshaped member of the marker is removably inserted and is securely held.

United States Patent [1 1 Kawamata 1 51 Sept. 16, 1975 BALL MARKER HOLDER FOR GOLF [75] Inventor: Kiyoshi Kawamata, Ohmiya, Japan [73] Assignee: Nihon Seikan Kabushiki Kaisha,

Ohmiya Japan 221 Filed: Feb. 9, 1973 211 Appl.No.:33 l,048

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 15, 1972 Japan 47-095629 Nov. 2, 1972 Japan 47426803 {52] US. Cl. 224/5 C; 24/3 F; 24/216; 24/217 [51 1 Int. Cl. A45F 5/02 [58] Field of Search 224/5 C, 25 R, 5 R, 5 A;

24/105, 3 F, 3 R, 217, 216, 218, DIG. 17, 108, 90 E, 90 A, 201 R, 113 R, 113 MP [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Martin et a1. 24/3 R 1,212,047 1/1917 Gibson 24/105 1,359,381 11/1920 Hornheck 24/108 X 1,594,416 8/1926 Kellog 24/105 2,749,588 6/1956 Pliszczak et all 24/108 X 3,430,829 3/1969 Wilson et al. 224/5 L FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 1,043,683 9/1966 United Kingdom 224/5 C UX Primary Examiner-Robert J. Spar Assistant Examiner-Jerold M. Forsberg Attorney, Agent, or FirmWenderoth, Lind & Ponack 1 ABSTRACT This invention relates to a means for holding a ball marker for use in golf which is used temporarily to indicate the position of a golf ball on the green and, more particularly, to a ball marker holder having a means for fastening the holder to shoes or belts worn by golf players and an insertion hole into which a rodshaped member of the marker is removably inserted and is securely held.

2 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures BALL MARKER HOLDER FOR GOLF BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ball markers which are used to. indicate temporarily a ball position on the green are usually made of synthetic resin or metal, having a rivet-like shape with one end pointed and the other-enlarged.

However, there are no devices known to this inventor for holding these markers and therefore, the players have to carry the mark in their pocket. This presents disadvantages because of the necessity of occasionally getting the marker into or out of the pocket and thus delaying the play itself.

To solve this problem, this invention provides a ball marker holder comprising a body having an insertion hole into which a rod-shaped member of the marker is removably inserted and is securely held, and a means for fastening the holder in the string holes of shoes, belt holes or button holes. Materials used for making this holder may be either synthetic resin or metal or both.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with a ball marker holder comprising a body having an insertion hole into which a rod-shaped member of the marker is removably inserted and is securely held, and a means for fastening the holder to shoes or clothes worn by the golf player. The body may be built entirely of synthetic resin, or partly of synthetic resin and partly of metal which are joined by screwing or fitting means, or entirely of metal which is squeezed into a cylindrical form and to which is fixed a base plate.

The means in fastening the holder may be a bolt or the like, having one headed end firmly embedded inside the body and the other end registering with a nut. or an insertion hole may be provided in the body, the inner wall of said hole being threaded to receive a bolt. In both the cases, this means is equipped with a shaft for insertion into holes such as button holes, and a nut or flange for fastening the holder to these holes.

In order to hold the rod-like shaped member of the marker, it is essential to resiliently hold the member with a greater frictional force by means of both the inner wall of the insertion hole and the outer wall of the member than the force tending to cause the member to come out of the insertion hole. To this end, the inner wall of the insertion hole should be provided with an elastic or rubber ring or projecting portions, whereas the rod member of the mark should be provided with corresponding annular concave portions or grooves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS FIG. I is a sectional view of a holder comprising a synthetic resin body having upper and lower portions.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a holder comprising a body built of synthetic resin and/or metallic portions which are joined by thread means.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a holder comprising a fastening means as an integral part of the body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a holder comprising a body built of the upper and lower portions which are joined in a tight fit by adhesive means.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the holder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the holder of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the holder comprising a synthetic resin body, as is actually used.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a ball marker. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a holder comprising a metallic body which is shaped into a cylindrical form. FIG. I is a sectional view of a holder comprising a synthetic resin body having a base to which is joined a metallic plate, having a bolt extending therefrom.

FIG. II is a sectional view of a holder having an insertion hole formed therein and equipped with small projecting portions.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a holder having an insertion hold formed therein and equipped with two opposed rolls.

FIG. I3 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of FIG. 12 having the rolls therein.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a holder having a female threaded hole to receive a bolt.

FIG. is a perspective view of a holder which is fastened to a shoe.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a ball marker holder having an insertion hole on the upper portion thereof to receive the rod-like member of the marker and a means on the lower portion for fastening the holder to button holes or the like.

Now, the invention will be further described, by way of examples only, by reference to the drawings.

In FIG. I, a synthetic resin body 1 generally in the shape of a truncated cone has a headed end 3 of a bolt 2 embedded in the lower portion and an insertion hole 6 vertically positioned in the top to receive a rod-like member 5 of a ball marker 4.

The upper portion of the body 1 is shaped to provide a cylindrical lateral wall 7 having an annular projection 8. An annular concave recess 9 is provided around the periphery of the hole 6. A rubber ring 10 is fitted in the recess 9. and the inner diameter of the ring I0 should be determined so that the inner wall of the ring I0 will be slightly smaller in diameter than the hole 6. The upper portion of the body 1 is capped with a synthetic resin cap II which snaps over the annular projection 8 and holds the rubber ring 10 under pressure. In the figure, 12 is a nut threaded on the bolt 2.

In FIG. 2, the lateral wall of the upper portion of the body I is threaded at 13 to threadedly engage corresponding threads on the synthetic resin or metallic cap 1 l.

A modified embodiment of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 3, in which the body 1 has a threaded bolt 14 integral with the bottom thereof, which has the nut 12 thereon. The body I may be made of either synthetic resin or metal.

In FIGS. 4 to 6 showing a modified embodiment of FIG. I, the cylindrical portion of the body I can have the cap 11 secured thereto without the annular projection 8. However, the annular concave recess 9 should be made deep enough to accomodate more than onehalf the height of the rubber ring 10. In this way, there is no risk that the ring 10 will be pulled out of the recess when no cap is present. This makes it easy to assemble the parts of the body I.

In FIG. 7, the upper portion of the cylindrical body 1 formed like a golf ball is provided with an insertion hole 6 for receiving the rod-shaped member 5 of the marker an an annular rubber ring 10 mounted in the inner wall of the hole 6. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the holder is connected by a bolt 2 and a nut 12 to a button hole 15 or the like. This holder is formed like a golf ball having small concave dimples l6 thereon.

In FIG. 9, the lower end ol'cylindrical metal body I8 is interlocked with a metallic plate 17. The upper end of the cylindrical metal body I8 is bent inwardly to form an insertion hole I9 to lock the rod member 5 of the marker 4. The lower central portion of the metallic plate 17 is firmly connected to the upper end of a bolt 20 having a nut 21 thereon,

In FIG. 10, the lower end of the cylindrical body 22 formed like a truncated cone has a metallic plate 23 attached thereto. The body 22 is provided with an insertion hole 24 for holding the rod member 5 of the marker 4. The lower central protion of the metallic plate 23 is firmly connected to the upper end of a bolt 25 which has a nut 26 thereon.

FIG. 11 shows a modified embodiment of FIG. 7, in which the insertion hole 6 is provided with small projecting portions 27 on the inner wall thereof to lock the rod member 5 of the marker 4. It is equally convenient to provide corresponding annular grooves on the outer wall of the member 5.

FIG. 12 shows a modified embodiment of FIG. 7, in which rolls 29 are provided instead of the rubber ring 10, said rolls 29 being exposed from the inner wall of the insertion hole 6 as indicated in FIG. 13.

FIG. I4 shows a modified embodiment of FIG. 7, in which the lower end of the body I is provided with a threaded hole to receive a bolt 32 with a head 31 on the end thereof.

The holder constructed according to the invention is characterized in that it is easily fastened to button holes I or the like. holding the marker removably and securely. Materials. profiles and sizes of the holder are not limited to the embodiments mentioned above.

What is claimed:

' I. A holder for holding a golf ball position marker which marks the position of a golf ball after said ball is removed from the ground, comprised of:

a body having a hole in a first end thereof for receiving a rod shaped member of said marker and a concave recess in said first end of said body surrounding said hole;

an annular rubberlike ring fitted into said concave recess for frictionally holding said rod-shaped member inserted into said hole through said annular rubber ring;

cap means secured to said body over said first end, said cap having a concave recess in the side thereof fitted next to said first end for fitting over said annular ring fitted in the recess in said first end. thereby holding said annular ring under pressure;

and threaded fastening means on a second end of said body opposite said first end for fastening said holder through buttonholes and the like.

2. A holder as claimed in claim I wherein said threaded fastening means is comprised on a threaded member secured to and extending away from said second end of said body and threaded securing means removably threaded onto said thread member for securing said holder through buttonholes and the like.

l l l 

1. A holder for holding a golf ball position marker which marks the position of a golf ball after said ball is removed from the ground, comprised of: a body having a hole in a first end thereof for receiving a rod shaped member of said marker and a concave recess in said first end of said body surrounding said hole; an annular rubber-like ring fitted into said concave recess for frictionally holding said rod-shaped member inserted into said hole through said annular rubber ring; cap means secured to said body over said first end, said cap having a concave recess in the side thereof fitted next to said first end for fitting over said annular ring fitted in the recess in said first end, thereby holding said annular ring under pressure; and threaded fastening means on a second end of said body opposite said first end for fastening said holder through buttonholes and the like.
 2. A holder as claimed in claim 1 wherein said threaded fastening means is comprised on a threaded member secured to and extending away from said second end of said body and threaded securing means removably threaded onto said thread member for securing said holder through buttonholes and the like. 